The Limits of Justice: A Benjamin Justice Mystery (Benjamin Justice Mysteries) [Hardcover]

John Morgan Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Benjamin Justice Mysteries | Publication Date: July 18, 2000

Behind the locked gates of a compound in the California desert, Benjamin Justice discovers a series of crimes so chilling, they make the blood run cold.

This fourth book in the award-winning Benjamin Justice mystery series continues John Morgan Wilson's exploration of the dark depravity that is normally hidden from the glaring California sun, and delivers a tale of suspense that is at once shocking and compellingly addictive.

Still trying to come to terms with his HIV+ status, Benjamin Justice is just resurfacing after a six-month-long romance with Cuervo Gold when he is roused from his self-induced torpor by a young woman bearing the offer of work and a handsome monetary reward.

A sleazy star biographer has just written an exposé of Charlotte Preston's late father, Rod, an actor known more for his masculine hunkiness than his thespian abilities, claiming the Hollywood he-man was not all that he seemed. Charlotte wants Justice to write the rebuttal and set the record straight. But before he can even begin, Charlotte is dead, discovered in her bedroom with a needle in her arm by none other than Justice himself.

Curiosity aroused, and with a generous advance already swelling his bank account, the journalist is determined to discover the truth--not only about Rod Preston's life but also about his daughter's death. What Justice finds hidden deep in the desert links an unlikely group of men to a history of twisted perversion and crimes almost too horrible to believe.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Former investigative journalist Benjamin Justice has decided that blue agave is a whole lot better than bleak reality, so he's spent the better part of six months trying to pickle himself in tequila. Justice has any number of reasons to be depressed. He was fired from the Los Angeles Times for fraud (and had to give back a Pulitzer Prize to boot); his lover of 10 years died from AIDS; and Justice himself was infected with HIV during a brutal rape.

Money, however, is a powerful motivator. When Charlotte Preston offers him an advance of $25,000 to ghostwrite an exposé of Randall Capri, a tabloid writer whose latest sensational effort claims that Charlotte's late father, Hollywood heartthrob Rod Preston, was a sexual predator, Justice decides to come up for air. But Charlotte is found dead less than a day later, and Justice inherits both her spoiled Lhasa apso and a determination to unearth her killer. It doesn't take long for Justice to discover that Capri was right on the money. In a trail leading from the posh health spas of Beverly Hills to the seedy strip bars of Tijuana, Justice will uncover a network of pedophiles, respected citizens all, who exploit immigrant boys and who will stop at nothing to keep their secret safe.

John Morgan Wilson's hero (Simple Justice, Revision of Justice, Justice at Risk) is brooding, sardonic, and deeply human. His investigation into other people's lives is peppered with moments of often unpalatable insight into his own dark existence and pangs of guilt for distancing himself from all who would befriend him. Justice's propensity for occasional ponderous asides on sex and morality slows down a plot that otherwise moves briskly along. (Perhaps a bit too briskly: Wilson can't seem to decide whether he's writing a solemn meditation on the human condition or a no-holds-barred potboiler.) However, though the denouement flirts dangerously with farce as Justice storms a desert compound populated by former Nazis, Wilson's generally adept prose will keep readers happy, and pages turning. --Kelly Flynn

From Publishers Weekly

A sensitive and powerful writer, Edgar Award-winner Wilson presents a compelling portrait of gay life in contemporary Los Angeles in his fourth book (after 1999's Justice at Risk) featuring HIV-positive journalist Benjamin Justice. Having destroyed his newspaper career with a faked story that won him a Pulitzer, Justice is sinking into a self-imposed, unwashed funk when Charlotte Preston offers him 50 grand to ghostwrite a sleazy tell-all about biographer Randall Capri, author of a sordid expos? of her late, mucho macho movie star father, Rod. When Charlotte is found dead, Justice is the only person who doesn't think the woman committed suicide. His search for the truth about Rod Preston leads him to a group of famous menAa movie star, a pop singer, a business tycoonAwho prey on preteen boys and do terrible things to them in the desert mansion of a creepy doctor and his mortician sister. Amazingly, within this obvious and often ludicrous premise, Wilson is able to nourish many moments of effective art. He beautifully evokes such heavily trodden Southern California literary landscapes as West Hollywood, Montecito and the road to Tijuana. Then there's a truly frightening moment as JusticeAwho has had his bouts with the bottleAtalks about the dangerous delights of tequila, as well as a thrilling action scene where he's almost drowned by crashing waves outside a fortified Malibu beach house. Best of all is Justice himself, as his quest becomes his own wake-up call to rejoin the human race. Agent, Alice Martell. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (July 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385491174
• ISBN-13: 978-0385491174
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,950,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty, dark, with a silver lining, July 29, 2000

By 

Richard D Galey - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Limits of Justice: A Benjamin Justice Mystery (Benjamin Justice Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I've been fortunate to have read the Benjamin Justice mysteries in sequence. When this popped into a search list I did on the author, I reserved a copy immediately.

The style itself is an equal match to the other three in the series. Wilson has maintained a steady, even narrative throughout the series.

What I found the most enjoyable was Benjamin's attempt to redeem himself and his condition. He was well on his way to rebuilding his life in 'Justice at Risk', but met with some setbacks. Having hit bottom, again, he must decide to go with the flow or to fight the current.

One minor annoyance: The way the mystery was wrapped up suddenly. It made the whole investigation seem a side-issue.

But even with that point made, I have to heartily suggest this book to anyone who has enjoyed the 'Justice' series. It is a must-read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks for the Mystery Amazon!, October 12, 2000

By 

Joseph J. Hanssen "Joe" (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Limits of Justice: A Benjamin Justice Mystery (Benjamin Justice Mysteries) (Hardcover)

If it wasn't for Amazon's Quick Picks, I would never have discovered this author and this great mystery story. After checking the book out on my Amazon Quick Pick List I couldn't wait to read it. I am glad I did because I read this book in one day, it was that interesting and so hard to put down. I will be sure and read his previous three mysteries.

"The Limits Of Justice" tells the story of Charlotte, daughter of TV and movie star Rod Preston, who wants an unauthorized biography stopped about her father.. Private Investigator Benjamin Justice gets on the case, and then Charlotte is found dead. The story goes on to reveal a network of pedophiles and secrets that are too horrible to imagine. This is a very engaging read and keeps you glued to your seat till the very end. His description of the Southern California region and its history, as well as Mexico, is surely educational and enlightening if you are not too familiar with this area. A book worth exploring!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent until the end, December 27, 2000

By 

"blissengine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Limits of Justice: A Benjamin Justice Mystery (Benjamin Justice Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Wilson continues his award-winning style and pacing, as well as the intense rendering of Ben Justice's climb from his pit of self-destruction. The mystery plot begins strong, yet it plummets to a disappointing cliché ending. Justice is hired to write a book refuting claims that a dead Hollywood star was a pederast. He finds the star's daughter dead and seeks her killer. Along the way he stumbles into a boy trade reaching into the highest levels of Los Angeles's social structure. The problem I had with the plot was the actual culprits and their reasons for doing bad things. It was just such a let-down from what I was expecting from Wilson's level of excellence. I am happy with the characterization of Justice, most especially his achievements on the road to recovery. I hope the next in the series overcomes this stumble.